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Business News Labels & Publishers Retail
IFPI confirms discussions on global release day ongoing, Friday looking likely
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 14 August 2014
Following the rumours earlier this week that the record industry was considering a consistent street day worldwide, so that new releases would go on sale on the same day of the week in every country, the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry has confirmed that such a conversation is indeed ongoing.
As previously reported, many believe that in the digital age having different release days around the world is counter-productive, and moves are afoot to move new releases worldwide to Friday. Which would be quite a difference for the UK, where new releases generally go on sale on a Monday.
The IFPI said this morning: “A new global release day will allow all fans to access new music on the same day, creating new communities, engagement and excitement about music launches and allowing artists to plan and think big. A band will be able to tell all their fans, wherever they are around the world, that their album is out on one day”.
Confirming that discussions within the industry had been productive so far, the trade group added: “The positive dialogue with organisations representing artists, chart compilers, digital services, independent record labels and physical format retailers is about a proposal that would see albums and singles released on Fridays at 00:01 local time around the world from next summer. This proposal would benefit consumers as they will know that wherever they are in the world they can get hold of new releases from Fridays at 00:01. If a new album or single is being released on a global basis, consumers won’t have to wait after first release to obtain it from a licensed service in their country”.
Meanwhile, IFPI chief Frances Moore told CMU: “Moving to a global release day will help to rekindle excitement around launching new music, allowing for truly global campaigns, bringing fans around the world closer than ever to their favourite artists. That is why IFPI supports a global release day”.
